AP'S NEWS OF THE ODD

Eat your heart out, Mr. Mayor

Published: Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at 9:15 a.m.

The mayor of a small town in the Philadelphia suburbs, in a gut-busting campaign to draw attention to the tiny borough’s varied restaurant scene, set out to visit all 24 of them last Saturday.

Mayor Ed Foley started with a pre-dawn visit to IHOP, where he wanted just one pancake. “And IHOP does not want to sell you one pancake,” he said.

The second-term Democrat said he had to battle “mom guilt” from restaurant staff while eating his way across Jenkintown, a town so small that he only needed to build in 15 minutes to walk from place to place.

“I really am having fun with it,” he said shortly before his 16th stop of the day. “You feed on the energy of all these people who are excited to have you in their restaurant.”

Foley conceived the meal marathon, complete with photos on social media and a custom hashtag, as a way to promote Jenkintown’s first restaurant week, which started Tuesday.

<p>The mayor of a small town in the Philadelphia suburbs, in a gut-busting campaign to draw attention to the tiny borough's varied restaurant scene, set out to visit all 24 of them last Saturday.</p><p>Mayor Ed Foley started with a pre-dawn visit to IHOP, where he wanted just one pancake. “And IHOP does not want to sell you one pancake,” he said.</p><p>The second-term Democrat said he had to battle “mom guilt” from restaurant staff while eating his way across Jenkintown, a town so small that he only needed to build in 15 minutes to walk from place to place.</p><p>“I really am having fun with it,” he said shortly before his 16th stop of the day. “You feed on the energy of all these people who are excited to have you in their restaurant.”</p><p>Foley conceived the meal marathon, complete with photos on social media and a custom hashtag, as a way to promote Jenkintown's first restaurant week, which started Tuesday.</p>